Shloka 23
Adharmic Victory as Unstable; Rules of Restraint, Mediation, and Conciliation (अधर्मविजय-अध्रुवत्व तथा क्षमा-नयः)
भरतनन्दन! राजा नाभागने श्रोत्रिय और तापसके धनको छोड़कर शेष सारा राष्ट्र दक्षिणारूपमें ब्राह्मणोंको दे दिया ।।
bharatanandana! rājā nābhāgaḥ śrotriyasya ca tāpasasya ca dhanaṃ parityajya śeṣaṃ sarvaṃ rāṣṭraṃ dakṣiṇārūpeṇa brāhmaṇebhyo dadau. uccāvacāni vittāni dharmajñānāṃ yudhiṣṭhira; āsan rājñāṃ purāṇānāṃ sarvaṃ tan mama rocate.
ビーシュマは言った。「バーラタの裔よ。ナーバーガ王は、シュロートリヤ（śrotriya）と苦行者ターパサ（tāpasa）に属する財を除き、残る国土のすべてをダクシナー（dakṣiṇā）として婆羅門たちに与えた。おお、ユディシュティラよ。法（ダルマ）を知る古の王たちは、さまざまな財を有していたが、そのすべて――多様な資源と施与――は、わたしには称賛に値するものと映る。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A righteous king should use royal resources for dharmic ends—especially supporting sacred learning and ritual—while respecting protected property: the wealth of Vedic scholars (śrotriyas) and ascetics (tāpasas) is not to be seized. Generosity is praised, but it must be bounded by ethical restraint.
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhishthira on dharma and governance, he cites King Nabhaga as an exemplar: Nabhaga gives the remaining wealth of the realm as dakṣiṇā to Brahmins, explicitly excluding what belongs to śrotriyas and ascetics. Bhishma then remarks approvingly on the diverse wealth and endowments associated with ancient dharma-knowing kings.